The Galactic Codex: Mass Effect Expanded Universe
by RedCenturionG
Summary: The Galactic Codex is a a collection of the known histories of the Milky Way galaxy's species, governments, conflicts, people, and much more. Biographies of important figures, detailed histories of species...it's all here. Request-based lore. See first chapter for rules on making requests.


_Welcome to the Galactic Codex._

_You probably weren't expecting a new project so soon, but in all honesty...neither was I. _

_You guys already know how much I love world-building. I've lost count of the hours I've spent rummaging through Halopedia, the Mass Effect wikia, Wookieepedia, Memory Alpha, the Dead Space wikia, etc. I love lore, and I'm a glutton for it. You've probably also noted I spend a lot of time in stories building up the lore of introduced characters, species, factions, conflicts, etc., often to the point where I get carried away. And I've always wanted to explore that lore in more detail...but such a task is too gargantuan to cover in its entirety. I wouldn't even know where to start!_

_And that's how this story was born. You've noticed this is request-based...that's because I'm giving you, the reader, the ability to choose what parts of the Mass Effect lore I explore. In a way, this IS a spiritual successor to Flashpoint: you guys get to request what parts of the lore YOU personally want me to explore._

_There will be limits of course, and I will explore them in the rules dictated in this initial chapter. Now, keep in mind I won't be starting straight away, as I'm taking a short week-long break from writing so that I can tackle these new projects, and EQC, with a fresh mindset. However, I'm fully committed to this project, and extremely excited to get started._

_So, like with Flashpoint, some ground rules:_

_Firstly, when requesting sections of lore for me to explore, it can be almost anything, but it HAS to be specific. For instance, I can explore the life of a certain character, the timeline of a war, the history of a species, the origin of a technology and who invented it, the history of a ship, weapon or vehicle, the history of a planet and/or faction/military, etc. However, do not simply say "explore the lore of the asari." That would include the history of their planet, military, government, species, culture...its far too broad to tackle. I'd need specifics, such as 'could you write the history of the Asari Republics." Additionally, if you wish me to tackle a certain part of a species' history (for example, ancient quarian history, post-industrial krogan history, etc.), you may request this as well._

_Secondly, tackling the history of a pairing will require alternate timeline lores to be created. For instance, I obviously can't write the life of a Tali/MShep romance within the same universe as an MShep/Liara romance. Also, when writing about lore that involves mentioning Shepard's romance, it will, due to my own preference, always default to Tali. This is most prevalent to references of quarian lore, however, if the request asks that I assume a non-romanced Tali (or a Tali who has romanced someone else), accomodations can be made. Also keep in mind that, by this same token, OC pairings you request must be realistically feasible (in other words: they must be in-character, you know the drill), and they must be relevant to any lore I explore. This is not a romance story._

_Thirdly, I expect that some people will ask me to explore my original head canon lore, for example: the Quarian-Batarian War. In all honesty, much of the expanded lore I create WILL be drawing upon my head canon to fill in the gaps. This does not mean I will be changing established lore (at least not frequently), but merely filling in the gaps BioWare left with my own head canon. If you make a request to explore these areas, DO expect my own head canon to be projected on it. That is partly the point._

_Fourthly, do not ask me to go into scientific detail about scientific principles. I'm not a scientist and I don't pretend to be, and I'd rather not make up some Trekkian-level pseudoscience to explain technologies I do not understand. I will, when exploring the invention of a technology, explore its operation on the surface level, but I will not go into detail, and I hope you understand why._

_Fifthly, yes, I will and can expand on Andromeda's lore. _

_Sixthly, post-Reaper War lore will be subject to numerous AU timelines of my choice. It may contain my FABT timeline, my EQC timeline, my Flashpoint timelines, etc. By extension, you can also request lore expansion on a specific one of these timelines. You may even ask for a theoretical timeline of your choice, subject to negotiation via PM._

_Additional rules may be added as per my own discretion. As I ended up doing with Flashpoint, certain prompts ended up exceeding my expectations and I found them to be either egregious (like a rape prompt I received that I, obviously, rejected) and/or undoable. The same rule applies to Galactic Codex. I recommend new prompters regularly read or, if necessary, reread this section before making their first/making new prompts. _

_If you need any further clarification on these rules, feel free to PM me. _

_With that all said and done, I hope you guys will enjoy the opportunity this story provides in allowing me to handle my world-building addiction (I need an outlet!), while also allowing you to request what parts of the Mass Effect universe to build upon!_

_Let's get crackin', you glorious bosh'tets! :D_


End file.
